The invention relates generally to firearms, and, more particularly, to a handgun with a cock, a cocking actuator which is separate from the cock and a safety mechanism for releasably securing the cocking actuator in a cocked position.
As used herein, terms pertaining to position, such as xe2x80x9ctop,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cforward,xe2x80x9d etc. refer to the weapon in a normal horizontal position. Thus, xe2x80x9cforwardxe2x80x9d refers to the direction of shooting.
A prior art handgun is known from German Patent 197 32 857 C1.
A gun has recently become known (Daewoo, Korea) in which the cock is designed in two parts, namely, an actual cock and a cocking actuator. The cock has a handle or lug which can be gripped for cocking the mechanism. The cocking actuator is connected to and driven by the striker spring. The cocking actuator acts on the cock. The trigger mechanism of this gun acts on the cock via a tension trigger mechanism (double-action device), while the locking mechanism which releases the shot if the weapon has first been cocked (single-action locking mechanism) is arranged on the cocking actuator.
Thus, in operation of the tension trigger, the cock is moved to the rear and entrains the cocking actuator. In operation of the trigger when the cocking actuator has first been cocked, the cocking actuator strikes off and entrains the cock.
The advantage of this arrangement is that when the cocking actuator is cocked, the cock can simply move back into its forward end position. It is only necessary to overcome the set frictional resistance. Thus, the cock does not become caught when removing the weapon from an article of clothing, for example. Nevertheless, when shooting, only the low trigger weight of the cocked weapon need be overcome. In forward movement of the cock when the cocking actuator is cocked against the set frictional resistance, the trigger moves back into the forward position (double-action position) which corresponds to the uncocked weapon. However, in pulling the trigger, only the aforementioned low frictional resistance need be overcome by the trigger until the trigger then releases the cocking actuator when the cock moves back and, thus, the shot is released.
In the position just described (cocking actuator cocked, cock forward) the trigger is in the forward position (double-action trigger position) and is thus a great distance from the pressure point (single-action trigger position), so that a greater measure of safety is achieved than with a conventional cocked gun. It is nevertheless conceivable for the cocked cocking actuator to be released inadvertently from the locking mechanism (single-action locking mechanism), for example, due to a heavy vibration such as that when the gun is dropped onto the hard ground. Although under such a circumstance the cocking actuator will strike against the cock (which has a considerable mass and is at rest in its forward position after traveling its striking distance), in the worst case it could nevertheless fire a cartridge. Even if the cock were then secured, the cartridge could still be released if the safety were to fail.
This problem has been further intensified by the fact that many users use the tension trigger of the known gun only in the event of a cartridge failure. They do not release the cocking actuator in the usual use of the gun, but instead they only push the cock forward. Thus, they are actually carrying the cocked gun. However, firing should actually be prevented by the cock.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a handgun is provided which includes a trigger mechanism; a cock for movement between a first cocked position and a first discharged position; and a cocking actuator which is separate from the cock. The cocking actuator has a second cocked position and a second discharged position. The handgun further includes a striker spring loading the cocking actuator toward the discharged position; and a safety mechanism for releasably securing the cocking actuator in the cocked position. The safety mechanism is independent of the trigger mechanism such that actuating the trigger mechanism will not move the cocking actuator from the cocked position unless the safety mechanism releases the cocking actuator.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a safety mechanism is provided for use in a firearm including a trigger mechanism, a cock for movement between a first cocked position and a first discharged position, and a cocking actuator which is separate from the cock. The safety mechanism comprises an angle lever including a first arm and a second arm. The first arm is positioned in a substantially horizontal position and the second arm is positioned in a substantially vertical position. The second arm has an end positioned to releasably engage the cocking actuator for releasably securing the cocking actuator in the cocked position. The first arm includes an operating handle for selectively pivoting the angle lever to disengage the first end from the cocking actuator.